A start-up helping prisoners stay in touch with their loved ones will be pitching its business idea to the Duke of York.

Prison Voicemail, which is part of the Cambridge Social Ventures programme, is one of the 12 finalists in The Duke’s Pitch@Palace 6.0 competition.

The company with deliver its business idea to “a global audience of influencers who can catapult it to the next level” at the final of the competition, held at St James’ Palace on November 2. As well as The Duke, the panel include CEOs, angel investors, mentors and key business partners, as well as the Duke.

“The breadth of ideas and the passion of the teams behind the businesses we have met as part of Pitch@Palace 6.0 has been fantastic. From artificial intelligence to biotech developments, our nation’s start-up businesses are operating right at the cutting edge,” said The Duke of York.

“The final 12 businesses stood out and now have the opportunity to pitch their business in front of some of the most influential people in the ecosystem on November 2.”

Prison Voicemail allows users to leave messages for prisoners via a dedicated number. The message becomes available straight away, and the prisoner can listen and send a reply for the price of a landline call. The idea is to help prisoners maintain regular contact with their families while inside. There is also a version to help legal profesionals communicate with clients.

Also in the running for prizes are Flock and Wave Optics, both of which have links to Cambridge.

Hanadi Jabado from the Judge Business School is Pitch@Palace director and elevator.

“The reason why I am involved in Pitch@Palace is because it is a unique platform to encourage and nurture entrepreneurship. It is the only platform which actually works for entrepreneurs rather than trying to take advantage of entrepreneurs as there is no exchange of money.

“There is no investment but the Pitch@Palace platform has the best interests of the entrepreneurs and is a real accelerate in their progress.”